


The White Witch

by AlenaKP



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-09
Updated: 2014-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-18 08:54:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 11,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29606997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlenaKP/pseuds/AlenaKP
Summary: Hermione Granger has gone missing.It's driving Severus Snape mad.She was the reason he was alive. She was the reason he was still living. He was going to be the reason she was found. Alive and well.Severus Snape, the new Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, has disappeared into his office, searching through archives, libraries and newspapers for his missing star student and ex-apprentice. When he finally finds a photograph, blurry to the eye- but still clear enough to see her face- somewhere in North America, he immediately gets a lead on her.When he finds his missing witch, he finds something strangely off and dangerous about her. And he will do anything to return his witch to her right mind and her right place by his side.





	1. Chapter 1

Severus Snape shattered another glass of fire whiskey on the mantle of his grand fireplace.  
The whiskey, added to the fire causing the flames to turn blue and purple. It roared inside the fire chamber almost like a dragon settling into its nest.  
Severus didn't take much mind. He only grabbed the bottle and tossed it back, chugging down the remains. When he was done, his throat burned but he felt no pain. After staring at it, he threw the empty glass bottle, as hard as he could throw, at the mantle. The bottle shattered and scattered glass everywhere. A rather small piece came flying back and scratched him across the face. Another slashed his hand open.  
He growled in frustration but didn't howl in pain.  
The only pain he felt was the scarred over hole in his heart, which had reopened and begun to bleed. Figuratively, of course.  
He rose, viciously, from his chair and stomped through the glass not caring if it dug into the soles of his shoes.  
He ignored the stinging of his cheek and hand and began to search again.  
Two years.  
His eyes scanned the countless articles and newspaper from every continent and country, searching. For one word. One sentence. One city. One girl.  
Four months.  
Rustling pages. Paper cuts and calloused fingers. Matted hair from sleeping on the wooden desk. A stench from the countless bottles of firewhiskey and who knows when his last shower was.  
Seven weeks.  
His hands trembled. His eyes watered. Sweat dripped down his back.  
Two days.  
He wiped his eyes with his sleeve. Tossing pages over his shoulder. One right after the other. Hoping. Trying.  
Thirteen hours.  
He had to find something. Something. There was no way she could just disappear.  
Forty-five minutes.  
There was no way there couldn't be a single trace on her.  
Zero seconds.  
Unless she was dead.  
Severus collapsed into a sobbing mess. "Where are you?" He wept. His baritone voice vibrating. The room spun. The air thick.  
"Why do you do this to yourself, Severus?" An old voice echoed against the walls of his office.  
"Get. Out." He choked.  
Minerva McGonagall shook her head. "It's been two years. I think it's time to let go..."  
"No!" He growled, looking at her with broken disdain.  
"Shes. Gone. Severus. She obviously didn't want to be here anymore so she left! You must have done something! There must be a reason! Why did she leave?" Minerva bit back. She was fuming at the man. She wasn't really angry at him. She knew he had loved the witch. She was just so angry that he drank himself to the point of utter despair and then shuffled through the same pictures, articles, and newspapers. Over and over again.  
He wasn't himself. And he was never going to find anything in this state.  
Minerva sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Severus, I may have come across something that will help you." He jerked his head up and stared at here with wide eyes. Full of such hope. "But... I will not show you until you go shower, tend to your personal hygiene, and sleep. You're getting sick. I will clean up in here. Go clean yourself up, get rid of that stench, take a Sleeping Draught, and come to my office when you are in your usual brilliant mind." Minerva smiled weakly. "It's what she would want."  
Severus sighed. He knew she was right. His witch always made sure he was in his usual proper state. Made sure his chambers, office, classroom, and lab were always in perfect order when he was too tired to do it himself. She bossed him around making sure he didn't get sick. And instructed him to sleep and tend to himself.  
He was a clean and proper man. He wasn't disgusting. But she had made his life even better. She put his life back on track and made sure it stayed in order. Even as his apprentice. She took care of him.  
When she left, he was lost. He couldn't picture his rooms without her. When she was gone....everything changed. And he knew he had to do anything and everything to get her back.  
Or at least be able to mourn her in peace.  
"You're right, Minerva. I should clean up..."  
"And clean up that gash on your cheek. It's swelling... Shattering bottles again, are we?"  
Severus grimaced, finally feeling the sharp stinging on his hand and face, no longer full of adrenaline of the anger and depression. "Of course..."  
He meant to brush past her but she caught him and pulled him into a hug. "Severus, we will find her... I promise."  
Severus only grunted a reply and made his way to him private chambers.  
Minerva stayed behind and clicked her tongue at the destroyed office. She decided to start with the fireplace. With the flick of her wand, the glass swirled into the air. The glass pieced itself back to together to where four bottles and six whiskey glasses floated above the floor. She shook her head and motioned for them to find their places. The bottles disappeared and the glasses returned to a tray in which flew from the fireplace, and uncharted itself. The glasses landed on it along with a full glass of fire-whiskey for his next depression attack. The fire burned orange again and tied down. His chair unstained itself and moved into its proper place. The tray landed on the side table in an orderly fashion.  
She turned to the next area of the office. His work station. She flicked her hand at the desk and watched as the papers flew into orderly piles from his desk and the floor. They organized themselves by recent to oldest all in their own category of newspapers, photographs, archives pages, files and much more. They all condensed and folded themselves away neatly into the filing cabinets behind the desk and they moved to their little alcove in the wall, Severus had created by pushing the wall and making a little room to where they weren't sitting out in his office. Spilled ink and quills returned into their bottles and holders and screwed on the caps. She even performed a quick staining charm and glossed over all the stains and scrapes in the wood of Albus's old desk.  
These actions left the floor clean but the walls and floor were still destroyed and there wasn't a bit of light except the fireplace. No wonder he hadn't found anything.  
Two more flicks of her wand and the holes and scraps in the walls and floors rebuilt themselves and the portraits straightened along with the light that returned to the torches around the room. The stairs and rugs were straightened and unstained and the room finally looked organized and the way it used to be when Albus was Headmaster.  
Simply magical.  
"Minerva! Have you seen my..." Severus walked out his bed chambers at the top of the stairs and gawked at the room. He stopped crying his hair with the towel and stared around the room. Then he stared at the witch that had always acted like a mother to him.  
"You haven't seemed to have lost your touch, Minerva," he said, with a smirk. It didn't have as much feeling behind it but it was still a smirk. It was almost the old Snape she knew from their younger days. Pre-Dumbledore's death. Before everything changed. "It looks better than I would have made it."  
Minerva sent a Sleeping Draught up to him. "Sleep, Severus. Come and find me when you're fully rested." She turned on her heel and exited the, now returned to its rightful state, Headmaster's office.  
"You will be the death of me, woman," he grumbled, going back to his room. He laid his wand on his night stand and looked around the room. With a simple wave of his hand the room cleaned itself papers flew to their rightful places, books to their spots on the shelves or down to his personal library. When the room was spotless like she used to keep it, he turned to his place where he slept on the couch.  
Before sitting back down, he glanced over to the bed where he had once shared with his favorite apprentice when she had, had a night terror. Nothing intimate. Nothing like an affectionate relationship. Only comforting his friend. And yet, he had slept there since her disappearance.  
He sighed and sat on the bed. It was soft and inviting. After deciding to reside in his bed for the night, he took the potion, and curled up on her side of the bed. Not his own.  
"I will find you, Hermione Granger," he said, and drifted off into a undisturbed sleep for the whole night.


	2. Chapter 2

Severus thundered into his rooms. He had a student who had the balls to talk back and even more balls to stand up to him even in detention.  
He was exhausted and was ready to collapse into his favorite chair with a glass of firewhiskey and a new book.  
Peace and quiet.  
But the moment he opened he door he heard a beautiful melody flowing through his endless maze of chambers. He followed the beautifully soft harmonies and found his petite apprentice sitting at his most prized possession. She was sitting there treating it as he did, except she was actually playing.  
"Out in the garden where we planted the seeds,  
There is a tree as old as me.  
Branches were seen by the color of green.  
Ground had arose and passed its knees."  
She sang with a passion he never knew she had possessed. She played as if it were her very last day with that piano.  
"By the cracks of the skin, I climbed to the top.  
I climbed the tree to see the world.  
When the gusts came around to blow me down.  
I held on as tightly as you held on me.  
I held on as tightly as you held on me."  
She began to play even more rapidly now. Hitting ever note with the perfect grace and rhythm. The length of each note set.  
"Cause, I... Built.... A home...  
For you...  
For me...  
Until... It disappeared.  
From me...  
From you...  
And now...  
It's time to leave....  
And turn to dust..."  
She played a few a more chords and ended, looking up at him with a serene smile. "Hello, sir. Did you have a nice detention?"  
Severus stood at the door still enchanted by her beauty. She didn't know how much he cared. She didn't know how much he loved her. And she never would. But he tried to show her a little bit every day. But now, it was everything he could do, to hold back from kissing her like his life depended on it.  
"Hermione, how many time have I told you to call me Severus?"  
She huffed playfully. "Fine, Severus. How was your detention with Spencer Sullivan?"  
"He's vile and wicked for a Ravenclaw. How did you learn to play like that?"  
He quickly sped through his explanation ready to talk about her. And always her.  
She smiled, pushed in the piano bench, and gently laid down the cover. "My dad used to play for mum and me. He taught me what he knew. And then when I went off to school I would go to where Flitwick kept his instruments for the choir and practice." She smiled, sadly. "It's a good way to remember them." Hermione held out her arms. "Spencer should have been a Slytherin. He can be pretty tricky. Do you need a hug?" She held out her arms with a big smile on her face.  
Severus huffed but walked into them, weaving his arms around her tiny waist. He nestled his face into her soft, controlled curls. Breathing deeply the scent of peppermint and apples.  
It was an intoxicating scent. Severus looked forward to it every day when he saw her and she was either having a bad day or he was. He had first smelled it when she had, had a nightmare the first night staying in his chambers. She had been screaming and after he had awoken her, she asked him to stay. She had curled into his arms and he had smelled he peppermint.  
When he brewed Amortenia for the Ministry, all he smelled was peppermint, apples, old parchment and ink, and the lingering smell of the fire. Everything she had smelled of.  
"Severus?" She asked, muttering into his chest.  
"Yes, Hermione?"  
"Am I a good woman? I mean, yes, I'm a part of the Golden Trio. And yes, I helped win the war. That just proves I was on the side of good. It doesn't prove I'm a good woman."  
He pulled away and held her at arms length. He knew she was remembering when she obliviated her parents memories. And punched her best friend in the nose her third year. And everything she had done that had been slightly wrong. He took a deep breath and stared into her eyes. "Hermione, I never lie. You know that." She nodded, knowing he had never told her a lie in her life of knowing her. "You are the only woman I know that is the absolute definition of a good woman."  
With tears in her eyes she jumped back into his arms and squeezed him tight. "I... Thank you, Severus."  
He smiled. I love you, Hermione. "Your welcome."  
End Flashback  
Severus had sent for Minerva, not wanting to leave the comfort of his office. He wasn't ready to go out and face the world just yet. Not until he knew Minerva's clue.  
He had slept all night long. But woke up about seven am feeling fully refreshed and ready to start his search. This time, with his mind clearer than it had been in a while.  
Before he sent for her, he walked through the halls of his chambers until he came upon his favorite room.  
The piano room.  
So now, here he sat, singing in his low baritone voice, his Hermione's favorite song.  
"There is a house built out of stone.  
Wooden floors, walls, and window sills.  
Tables and chair worn by all of the dust.  
This is a place where don't feel alone.  
This is a place where I don't feel alone..."  
His long, slender fingers ran over the keys as he played the familiar tune of his witch.  
"Cause I...  
Built...  
A home...  
For you...  
For me...  
Until...  
It dis...appeared...  
From me...  
From you...  
And now...  
It's time...  
To leave...  
And turn to...  
Dust..."  
At the end of the chorus, Severus had broke down sobbing against the piano that held Hermione Granger's passion and soul. He hadn't played since her disappearance, three years ago.  
And now he couldn't play again until she was safe back in his arms once more.  
Or he'd never play again.  
•••  
Severus met Minerva out in his main office. She sat in front of his desk with a skin toned envelope.  
"It came a few days ago. A cloaked figure had lingered outside of the gates. Since you've cut off all contact with the outside world, besides meals, I fetched the letter. I didn't see the face of the man, but I heard his voice. It was an American accent. I think it may be from her, Severus, but I'm not sure. I haven't opened it, because it's addressed to you, in unrecognizable handwriting." She held it out.  
Severus took it from her hands. It was curlier and and more enlongated than his Hermione's handwriting. If it was her than she definitely didn't want it traced back to her. But there was a possibility that it wasn't hers.  
He carefully opened the envelope. No matter how nervous he was, he didn't know if it was poisoned or not. Possibly a prank of some kind.  
Inside was not a letter but photographs. Blurry photos but none the less. As he stared harder at them he realized what they were photos of. He waved his wand over them to clear them images. When they clearest, his eyes widened at the sight.  
"She's in America," Severus said.  
"How do you know?" Minerva whispered, biting her older lip.  
He showed her the moving, blurry picture. It was of Hermione Granger, looking terribly ill. She had pale skin with a tint of blue to her lips. Her eyes were glazed over like they had glass shielding them and they were lighter than before. Almost a green. She had her hands folded together and she was shaking them in front of her. Her lips were moving but of course there was no sound. Behind her were mountains for miles and a large sign that said Colorado.  
"She's pleading," Minerva said, and tried to read her lips. "She says..."  
Severus nodded. "Save me, my love. Please save me."


	3. Chapter 3

He ran up the stairs and flicked his hand to pack a bag. Then changed his attire. He would not find her looking like he had just finished brewing or teaching. He was no prince in shining armor. But he definitely was a Prince.  
After performing a cleaning charm on his body over all and twice on his hair, he began to strip down. He was completely naked when he heard footsteps.  
"Severus you honestly cannot just leave to find her li-" Minerva stopped mid-sentence and stared at the marble cut man in front of her. Beautifully carved as a Greek statue.  
Severus, having no shame, stood there with his arms across his chest and a raised eyebrow. "And why ever not? She's sick! Dying! I should be there to help her! Hold her! Cure her!" He grabbed boxers and black dress pants, before walking behind a black changing screen.  
"But you don't know if this was actually sent by her! What if it's a trap?" Minerva said, wrenching her mind free of the glorious trap.  
Severus came out with a dangerous look on his face. "Then I'll kill the bastard and bring Hermione home..." He slipped on a long-sleeved black button down, tucked it in, and donned his traveling cloak.  
With a wave of his wand, his bag was packed into a small wallet he could fit in his packet. Then he pulled his hood to cover his head.  
He was the perfect picture of darkness.  
Of anger.  
Minerva sighed. "Good luck, Severus. Don't do anything stupid. Especially when it comes to MACUSA. They're customs are quite a bit different than our own. They do not do well to those who jeopardize the secret of Wizarding kind. War hero or not."  
Severus nodded. "It's time to bring my Hermione home."  
•••  
MACUSA gave him his wand permit and allowed him to travel, much to their disappointment. Apparently, the British are always bringing trouble about. Something about allowing magical creatures to roam about New York City, jeopardizing their secret.  
Severus just rolled his eyes as they had searched his case. He was well aware of their last encounter with a certain brief case and a British fellow.  
Now he was walking across the state line and into Colorado. He didn't apparate directly in, just in case, so he wouldn't sound off any alarms of a rescue party. He made his way to a muggle bus stop.  
A young man sat there, probably around 26, with fiery, electric red hair. Definitely from a bottle. He had tattoos crawling up his neck and one peeking from underneath his long sleeved black shirt. Dark eyeliner encircled his eyes and he had a black cane, that reminded him a bit of his best friend, Lucius Malfoy's cane.  
"There were no alarms, Severus Snape," he said. Severus's head snapped up after he sat down and glared at the strange looking man. "You could've just apparated to Aspin. No harm done."  
"Who the hell are you?" Severus's voice was coarse.  
"Neither friend nor foe. Simply a stranger offering a war hero help." The man suddenly transformed the cane into a black, eight and three quarter inch wand. He stuck out his hand. "The name's Caro."  
"Definitely not American then," Severus said, ignoring the man's hand. "Remove your silly glamour, boy."  
The man chuckled and retracted his hand waving it once. The man's hair melted into long, black hair, just a little longer than Severus's. His skin darkened to a nice brown color and his tattoo's disappeared. Except for the one under his sleeve. "You are as good as they say aren't you?"  
Severus eyed the man's sleeve. "What. Is. That?" He used one, longs spindly finger and pointed at the tattoo.  
Caro chuckled and pulled up his sleeve to reveal just a normal arrow tattoo. "No evil here. Wrong arm, mate."  
"So where are you from exactly?"  
"I was originally born in India, but later moved to Russia when I was nine. Therefore, I was accepted into Koldovstoretz School of Magic. But in my 5th year they were doing a foreign exchange program and I volunteered, which sent me here to America to go to Illvermorny, where I finished school."  
Severus eyed him and was disappointed to find he was telling the truth. "Well, I seem to perceive you're telling me the truth. So, how do you know who I am and where I am going?"  
Caro chuckled, darkly. "I am a stranger helping a hero, as I said. But it might also help you to know that Hermione Granger is a good friend of mine..."  
Severus was about to open his mouth but was interrupted by the bus pulling up but it was not a muggle bus. Caro got up and grabbed his briefcase. "Are you coming? Can't keep her waiting much longer, can we?" He stepped on the bus and paid for the both of them.  
"Where yah headin, boys?" The witch driving asked.  
"Aspin, if you don't mind," Caro said and headed up the stairs to the top floor. No one was up there so they decided to sit.  
"A friend of..." Severus started. "You delivered the letter. The pictures."  
"Indeed, I did take them."  
Severus furrowed his eyebrows in noticeable worry. "What's wrong with her, Caro?"  
"I'm not sure if I should say, Lord Snape," he replied, respectively. His entire attitude changing from cocky to respectful and kind. "Mia and I.... We met when she first got here to America. I asked her where she was going. You know, flirting. And she said as far away from home as she could." Severus raised a curious brow. "I didn't press until later when I was escorting her to Aspin. I owned a cottage where she could stay, while she looked for her next move." Caro pinched the bridge of his nose. "I thought she was running away from a boyfriend or something. I thought she was scared or hurt. I didn't realize she was..."  
"She was what?" Severus asked, forcing out each word.  
Caro looked at him with sorrow. "Dying."  
Severus's stomach dropped. "What?"  
"She's slowly dying. Deteriorating. Growing older by the day but still keeping her youth. Her muscles and bones are growing weaker. Like an aging curse but her physical appearance hasn't changed... Very much."  
"She's dying, my lord..."  
"Why did she run from me?"  
Caro shook his head and laughed sadly. "And here I thought you were smart. You really don't know?" Severus shook his head. He knew his emotions were all out there but he didn't care. He needed to know.  
"She loves you."


	4. Chapter 4

Severus laid in silence the rest of the ride. Caro was in the hammock next to him, fast asleep. Severus didn't know if he could trust him but Hermione did....  
Two years. Four months. Seven weeks. Three days. Five hours. Fifty minutes. Twenty seconds.  
It was almost 6:00 and they still weren't to Aspin. To the woods. To Hermione.  
Severus stretched and laid on his hands. "Merlin, if you can hear me, tell me that everything is going to be alright..." He said in a low voice with his eyes closed.  
He groaned when there was no response. Of course there would be no response. What did expect? Dumbledore showing up in front of him, hugging him, and telling him everything will be okay? But what Severus did notice, is that almost a minute later all his stress melted away and he fell into a restful slumber.  
The first one he'd had in almost two and a half years.  
Merlin could hear him.  
•••  
Severus was awakened by someone shaking him. "Lord Snape, we're here. This is our stop." Severus shot up and looked around finding them as the very last passengers on the bus.  
They walked down the stairs, off the Wizarding bus and watched it zoom off into the distance. Much like the Knight Bus.  
Severus thought back to Stan Shunpike. Poor man. He shook his head and turned to find himself in front of an enormous forest that towered above him. The trees as tall as mountains.  
"Well, come on! You want to help her or not?" Caro yelled, stalking into the forest. Severus hurried after him.  
He wasn't used to this. Following someone else. He didn't like the feeling of being ordered around. Whether that person was decently respectful or not. He also didn't like how quite his traveling partner had become.  
"So, Snape," Caro finally whispered. "Why does she love you? What is so important about you?"  
"Why? Do you want her?"  
Caro laughed, softly. "If you want my honest opinion. I love Hermione. She's a sweet girl. I've been with her every step of the way these past two years but, honestly...." He chuckled shaking his head. "I like oak trees rather than maple, you know what I mean? Dogs preferably over cats? Trucks over cars?"  
He's a poof? Severus stared at him in shock. "You said you flirted with her in the beginning."  
"I did! I said I prefer them over the other. I like girls. I'll date girls. But in the end, I'm a flopper."  
Severus chuckled. "Well, then. Why do you ask?"  
"Because I've been her companion all of these years. I want to know who she loves and why."  
"Indeed," Severus murmured. "I would like to know why as well. You see, I didn't know until you said she did, that she loved me. I thought this was all one sided..."  
"Oh no! Boy no!" Caro said, shocked. "She talked about how she had, had a crush on you since her fifth year. When...Um...Umn...Uni... Satan in pink came..."  
"I don't know why," the potions master shot back. "All I did was help Dolores Umbridge that year."  
"She said you were doing it in order to keep your job and protect the school why Dumbledore was in hiding."  
Severus smirked. Clever little know-it-all. "She always was a little know-it-all."  
"Yes, she told me about that. She also told me you killed Dumbledore on his orders and how she punched a ferret... Although she didn't go into much detail about that... Why would she want to punch a ferret? Was it attacking her?"  
Severus chuckled. "It wasn't an it. It was my nephew and godson, Draco Malfoy."  
Realization flooded his eyes. "Oh..."  
"Yes. He was quite the brat, when he was younger. Soon his pride and childishness turned to only wanting to please his father and then it was to keep him and his family safe from harm by Voldemort. He only hated Potter because he had friends and was loved. He hated Weasley because... well I hate Weasley so I understand. He never hated Hermione. He had a crush on her for a while. But then his crush changed directions to his worst enemy of all people. Then Draco's best friend fell in love with a strange blonde Ravenclaw. Then his other best mate fell in love with the girl who obsessed over Draco. Hermione became best friends with them when she went back to make up her schooling. She was also resorted into Slytherin. I took her on as my apprentice after that year. Draco married Potter. And they've created a son together already...." Severus shook his head. "I don't know what happened but the war changed everybody..."  
Caro nodded. "Yes... It did. It didn't just affect the UK and Europe, you know. It affected the whole world. Including America. Grindelwald spent a lot of his time here. It affected a lot of this side of the world. Everyone always centers on England. Be it alien tv shows about time travel or wizards and witches going through a war. It's always about England and the UK. We're still here too you know."  
Severus chuckled. "I see. I'll remember that for the next dark wizard. I'll make sure I march right up to him and tell him to attack America because they're missing out on all the fun."  
Caro gave him a very Snape-like glare and snarled. "I didn't mean it like that." He looked ahead. "Come on. Welcome. Home sweet home."  
The cabin was warm and inviting. Nothing very strange at all about it. Nothing to signal any powers going bad or out of control.  
"She's in her room most likely," Caro said. "Come on in."  
Caro opened the door. "Right through here."  
"Cari?" A sweet voice called from down the hall. "Cari, is that you?"  
Severus's heart began to thud. His breathing quickened pace. His hands shook and his eyes watered. This didn't go unnoticed by Caro. "Nervousness doesn't look good on you, sir. Calm down."  
Severus tried to call himself not having enough energy to shoot him a glare. Her voice it was so soft. The same and yet so weak.  
"Cari?" The voice rang again. "Where did you go? Cari? Who are you talking to? Who did you bring with you?"  
Caro held a hand out to stop him and turned the corner into a room. "Hey, Mia. I'm sorry I left so quick the other day."  
Hermione's voice softly spoke again. "Where did you go?"  
"Remember when we took those pictures the other day, Mia?"  
"Uh, yeah? What's wrong? Did you bring someone with you? Someone to help?"  
"I did..."  
Hermione's voice raised. "I told you, Caro! We have been through every book I can think of! There's no cure! I'm going to die and we need to accept this!"  
Severus could stand it anymore. "I. Will. Never. Accept. It."  
Hermione's soft breathing stopped. Or at least slowed. No sound. Severus took a deep breath and stepped into the room. His breath hitched when he saw her.  
She looked like herself, in light washed jeans and a soft pinkish brown jumper. She held a book in her hand. Pride and Prejudice. Her very favorite. His as well. The same copy he used to read to bed when she was upset.  
But her skin had a blue-ish tint. Her full, lush lips no longer red but soft pink with a purple tint. Almost like she was freezing to death.  
Her hair was long, straight strands in silvery, white locks. They carried on down to her waist.  
But her eyes. He beautiful dark brown eyes were gone. Replaced by a crystal glassy blue.  
She was freezing. Freezing slowly to death and wasting away.  
"Severus?"


	5. Chapter 5

"Severus?" The petite woman whispered. She was still so small. So delicate. So broken.  
She stood and took a step closer to him. Not wanting to get too close. Like if her eyes were tricking her...again.  
Hermione had seen him before. See his face on the street. See his clothes in the shadows. Hear his voice when she read a book silently. She would read a book of his favorites collection just to picture his voice caressing each vowel. Tongue gliding over each syllable.  
Her heart was pounding out of her chest. She didn't mean to fall in love with her potions master. But when he held her at night after a nightmare and she breathed in the masculinity of him. The smell of fresh, damp earth, parchment, and herbs. She could help but fall a little harder every day. And she would've stayed with him forever if she could have.  
"Severus? Is that you?" Her voice was so weak. Not at all like the proud, confident, Gryffindor know-it-all Severus used to know. No longer a firey vixen. No longer his Hermione. This Hermione was broken.  
And he was determined to fix her.  
"No," Hermione whispered, stepping forward again. "It cannot be..."  
She reached out hesitantly but almost pulled back her hand. Severus took a long stride and felt his chest connect with the pads of her fingertips. She looked up at him with tears glazing her already clear eyes. Her hand palmed his chest. She stepped closer and ran both hands along his chest, as if trying to find proof it wasn't him. And when she found none, she smiled through tears. "It is you!" (Beauty and the Beast ref! It's coming out this year! Eep!)  
Severus smiled as if he were about to cry himself. She ran her hands up his chest and around his neck twining her fingers in his hair. He wrapped his arms around her small waist and gently pulled her to him. She buried her face in his chest, letting herself go and she began to sob bitterly. "I'm so sorry! I didn't want to hurt you! I never meant any of this to happen! I'm so sorry! I'm so so so sorry!"  
Severus and Hermione sank to the floor as they used to when she had cried in his chambers and he just held her. When they had both calmed down, he pulled away, not having said anything since that first sentence when he walked in. He pulled away just enough to grasp her shoulders, lovingly, and cup her face in his hands. "My darling girl, why did you leave me? Was I not good enough for you? I know I'm not much but an old man with a broken past and..."  
"No, Severus! That's not it! You were my best friend! Besides Harry and Draco and Ginny! Even them! I couldn't tell I them most of the things I found myself telling you!"  
"Then why did you go?" He croaked, still not strong enough to mask his emotions.  
"Because I was falling in love with you, Sev! And when I learned I was sick... I just couldn't tell you! You were too good for me. I didn't deserve you! I still don't!"  
Hermione began to sob again. Severus just pulled her small frame to his once more and allowed her to cry. "I believe I am the one who doesn't deserve you, witch. I have endured so much darkness and you're so good! So full of love and kindness! A true light in the darkness! You're that damn light that Albus kept talking crazy about!" This extracted a giggle from her lips through her tears. "I fell in love with you, Hermione. Long before you could ever even know...."  
Hermione smiled and through her arms around his neck. "I love you too, Sev! I love you so much!"  
Severus squeezed the girl tight, just enough to remind himself that she was really here and that it was not a trick. "Oh Hermione, my love. My darling. My beautiful witch. I love you so much. You should've seen me these past few years. The only way I stayed sane was having Minerva at my side."  
Hermione pulled away and kissed his nose. Her lips were cold but he didn't dare flinch away. They were her lips. Sick or not. It was really her.  
"What do you mean, stayed sane? You're the most proper and competent man I know. You're crisp and suitable and you don't take anyone's crap."  
"Yes, well I'm afraid your disappearance drained that from me. I never slept. I barely ate. I sat in my chair in front of the fire place drinking away my sorrows and then shattering the glass against the wall just hoping that I would wake up and it all be a dream. Then I would, unproductively, search the same files over and over looking for something. A word. A sentence. Anything that could point me in your direction."  
"And then Caro sent the pictures," Hermione nodded. "They were meant for you. But when we took them, I lost the courage I had and thought I had burned all of them. Apparently Caro, salvaged copies and left as soon as possible before I could find and burn them too."  
Hermione sighed and wiped her eyes. "Would you like some breakfast? I'm starved."  
At that moment, Caro stepped back in the room. "I've been called away, Mia. I'll be gone for the next two days. Will you be okay here with..."  
"Severus and I will be fine," she said. "I'll see you when we get back." Caro nodded, stooped down, kissed her cheek, and left the house with his briefcase and wand/cane. "So, tell me of my friends. Are they okay?"  
"Draco and Harry Malfoy-Potter are happily married and they just had their first son birthed. His name is James Sirius." Hermione smiled. "Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinsom are engaged after all that tyranny from the Ministry." Hermione remembered. The Ministry was trying to charge Blaise and Pansy as being unmarked Death Eaters. Trying to sentence them to the same fate as Dolores Umbridge. "Theodore and Luna Nott are pregnant with their second child."  
"Already? Can't keep those two's hands off of each other."  
Severus chuckled as they went to the kitchen. She moved around well for being sick. It was unlike anything he had ever seen. White hair, crystal eyes, disintegrating from the inside to the out? What sorcery was this?  
She began making them each crepes with chocolate drizzle and powdered sugar. When she was done and had set the plate down in front of him at the bar. She sat down beside him slowly.  
"Hermione, I need you to tell me exactly when you started to learn you were sick and everything you could have possibly gathered from this... We need to make you better. Even if it kills us. We have to try."


	6. Chapter 6

"Hermione Jean Granger! Get your arse back here right now!" Draco screamed at me.  
"What. Do. You. Want! Draco Lucius Malfoy!" She screamed back at him.  
It had been several months since the two friends had spoken to one another. Mainly, because Draco had said something he couldn't have.  
Everyone around them knew something was going on but decided to ignore it. Except now, when the two were fighting in the hallway. Shit was about to go down and everyone began placing their bets.  
"I'm sorry, Mia! I really am!" Draco said.  
"I'm not even mad about that, Draco!" Hermione yelled, pointing her wand at his throat. "I'm angry because you fucking went behind my back! Both of you!"  
"I'm sorry," Draco whispered, sadness and regret pooling in his eyes.  
Hermione sighed and lowered her wand. Then she engulfed him in a huge hug. "I'm sorry too, Drake... I really am. Just don't ever do that again. You or Harry. Don't you ever look me in the face and lie to me again. Do you hear me, Draco Malfoy?"  
Draco pulled away, tears sparkling in his eyes and nodded. But his eyes suddenly lowered to something and narrowed. "Mi?"  
Hermione's eyes scrunched up. People figured nothing was going to happen and began to disperse. Draco reached up and pulled a strand, from the bushy mess she called her hair, and held it up for her to see.  
It was white.  
End Flashback  
"I hid it with glamours from then on," Hermione shrugged. "I studied and studied and studied. Even went to the restricted section and got lost in the books for hours when I finally came across a book...."  
Severus raised an eyebrow. "What book?"  
Hermione grimaced and left the room. When she came back she was holding a large black book and set it in front of him.  
Gore Od Smrti  
Severus's jerked away from the book. "I thought I burned this book a long time ago."  
Hermione nodded sadly. "Worse than Death," she translated. "It's in there. Marked...."  
Severus turned to the page marked a skimmed over the Latin text.  
Kletva u prahu godinama  
Kletva starost prahu je jedan od najstarijih kletve u иarobnjaka istoriji zajedno sve do doba Merlin. Ova kletva nije bacila ali nasledio ili snimljene u moja žrtva.  
Najčešći način da nasledi ili da privedem ovo prokletstvo je, kroz niz traumatskog događaja, žrtva može razviti kletvu ako njegove ili njene je telo nije dovoljno jak da se nositi sa traumom. Uzrokuje vicim starost brzo i pretvoriti u prah.  
Postoje nijedan snimljeni lek.  
The Powdered Age Curse  
The Powdered Age Curse is one of the oldest curses in Wizarding History dating all the way back to the time of Merlin. This curse is not cast but inherited or taken in my the victim.  
The most common way to inherit or take in such a curse is, through a series of traumatic events the victim can develop the curse if his or her's body is not strong enough to deal with the trauma. Causing the vicim to age quickly and turn to dust.  
There are no recorded cures.  
Severus finished reading and snapped shut the book. After closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes.  
Hermione was standing in front of him, with her hand reaching for his. "Dance with me, Severus."  
Severus held back the tears in his eyes and took her hand. She pulled him to his feet and with a flick of her wand, music began to softly play and the lights dimmed to small flickering flames.  
Cause all of me  
Loves all of you  
Love your curves and all your edges  
All your perfect imperfections  
Give your all to me  
I'll give my all to you  
You're my end and my beginning  
Even when I lose I'm winning  
'Cause I give you all of me  
And you give me all of you, oh oh  
Hermione buried her head into his chest, closing her eyes and smelling the breathtaking scent of fresh, damp earth, parchment, and herbs. It was still there but now there was a sight scent of fire on him. He had said that he would sit in front of the fireplace so that's probably what she was smelling.  
Severus's chest rumbled as his lips pressed into her hair against her ear. "I give you all of me. And you give me all of you, oh oh...."  
Hermione smiled and felt the exhaustion of her day setting in. Severus felt her body relaxing against his chest, so he lifted her by the legs, swung her into his arms, and too her to her bedroom where her gently laid her down.  
"Severus," she mumbled. "Don't go... This might be a dream..."  
Severus chuckled, turned off the lights, and crawled into bed next to her. "I'm not going anywhere, my dear. I'll stay right by your side. Till death do us part..."


	7. Chapter 7

There is a house built out of stone.  
Hermione sat in her cottage at the piano. It was the one place in the whole house that she felt safe. Like she wasn't dying. Like nothing was wrong.  
Wooden floors, walls and window sills  
Like she was down deep in the dungeons of Hogwarts.  
Tables and chairs worn by all of the dust  
Like she was sitting on the bench with a black haired man who she loved with every ounce of her being.  
This is a place where I don't feel alone  
A man with dark brown eyes, pursed lips, but a smile that could melt all the evil away and a frown the scare all the shadows from coming towards them.  
He was her safe haven.  
He was her angel.  
Her demon.  
And everything in between.  
This is a place where I feel at home.  
Hermione remembered the day she knew she loved Severus Snape.  
A day like any other. They were sitting in his personal library. Beneath the enchanted starry sky ceiling and the thousands of books that lined every wall and shelf.  
His rooms were indeed bigger on the inside, of course. She had giggled at the reference but moved past it quickly only to be shocked into awe of the Prince Private collection that he had come into holding after his name had been cleared from its impure reputation.  
And I built a home  
It was a day like any other and yet a day like no other. The day she knew she was in love with her dark wizard and mentor.  
That day she had chosen from his "Wizard-posing as-Muggle" collection. She had chosen Lewis Carroll's, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Whether that was the true title of the book, she didn't know due to her incurable illness. Her mind could barely process.  
But she did remember he had been reading the Muggle Classic, Robin Hood, because he was quite taken with the Sheriff's character.  
for you  
Hermione giggled and continued to play.  
for me  
She had finished a chapter, so she sat up changing positions and popped her neck. But when her eyes had skirted over to the wizard, he was intently focusing on the novel. His gaze entrapped by the words. Gliding over each letter as if every single one were a work of art. That's how be treated every one because that's what he believed. He believe books were life's artwork. And by reading one, you were an artist. A storyteller. You had your own perspective making you an artist. Making you a writer. And when that story processed in your mind, it had a different meaning to him than it did to anyone else.  
He loved the Sheriff of Nottingham but as for Hermione she connected more with Maid Marian.  
That's when she realized she loved the man. Because no matter how hard she looked she would never find someone so in love. So enchanted by the written word, as she was.  
Until it disappeared  
The memory faded as she pressed on through the song. Pushing herself to her limit. Never giving in to death as it crept nearer. No. She pressed on.  
Ignoring her hair.  
Ignoring her eyes.  
Ignoring death.  
And focusing on every note. Rhythm. And verse.  
from me  
Caressing every melody.  
from you  
She. Pressed. On.  
She was a warrior. And she would fight.  
And now, it's time to leave and turn to dust........  
She pressed the keys gently as the song came to a fade before the second verse.  
Out in the garden where we planted the seeds  
She thought back to the day when her and Severus had shared their first real moment.  
There is a tree as old as me  
She knew it was a moment because moments are short. If you blink you might miss it. You have to be careful or you could ruin it and never get it back. Because after all.  
It is only a moment.  
Branches were sewn by the color of green  
They had been brewing. She was brewing a double order of Veritaserum for the Ministry. It had, of course, been Severus's job but he was grading tests which were exceptional, in Hermione's eyes. So she talked him out of his usual grumpy mood and took care of his orders. She was on the last batch when she suddenly had to sneeze.  
He had been there before she could even get it out. His hands grabbed hers before she could drop something in a ruin the mix. She sneezed and luckily no harm came to either of them or the batch.  
When she was stable he didn't let go. He kept ahold of her never leaving her eyes.  
Never breaking the moment.  
Ground had arose and passed its knees  
Her hands grasped his. Her eyes never blinking. Not wanting to ruin the moment. She could even think of blinking. Her heart was racing. As if it were trying to lift from her chest and into his large, slightly calloused hands.  
She was almost ready to cut it out and give it to him a little black box for safe keeping, when he literally pried his gaze from hers and stood at a reasonable distance. Just enough space in between.  
By the cracks of the skin I climbed to the top  
He had asked her if she were okay. When she had answered she turned quickly back to her potion and tried to catch her breath.  
I climbed the tree to see the world  
Hermione continued to build the verse. The chords pressing down easily. The strings plucking perfectly in tune with her soft voice.  
When the gusts came around to blow me down  
She was still fighting. Regaining her life. With every chord was a stab with her sword. Her heart raced as her fingers glided over the keys.  
Held on as tightly as you held on me  
The slow notes giving plenty of build up.  
Held on as tightly as you held on me......  
Swelling not only in the chords and melodies but in heart as well.  
Severus.  
And I built a home  
Severus.  
for you  
Severus. Severus. Severus.  
for me  
Severus! I love Severus! I will fight!  
Until it disappeared  
Sweat beaded on her forehead. This was not only a song. Not just a silly little tune on a piano.  
This was a war raging again the opposed. Raging against death.  
from me  
Death. Will. Lose.  
from you  
Severus. Severus. Severus.  
And now...  
Tears ran down her face. Swear mixed with the salty tears as she beat harder on the keys. Swelling with intensity.  
it's time...  
The intensity increased as the song came to a close.  
to leave and turn to dust........  
Hermione finished the song and collapsed onto the piano, sobbing.  
Dust....


	8. Chapter 8

Watching Hermione Granger play the piano was truly a beautiful sight to behold. Her voice was soft and although not the strongest, she was a powerful thing.  
His witch was more powerful than anyone could ever be. Not even himself could be as strong as this witch was.  
She may have fought in the same war, but now it seemed Merlin was punishing her. Punishing her for being an inspiration to witches all over the globe.  
He knew of witches from France, the Amazon, Bulgaria, and even America who wanted to be and even study under her. Her intelligence was shocking and although he knew calling her a insufferable know-it-all at the time was a bit harsh. It also made her strive to be that and more.  
And now she was. And she was his. And the world was taking her from him.  
Even though he just got her.  
Severus watched as she fell onto the piano pressing down all the keys at the same time, causing a clashing of tones. Her son's were loud and clear.  
She was weak. And just by putting all the emotion she could muster into one song, one tiny melody, she poured out her heart and depleted her energy.  
He swept to his side and picked her up in his arms, carrying her from the room.  
When he sat on the bed, she didn't let go. She pulled him down with her. "Severus," she said, weakly. The witch brushed back a strand of black hair that was falling in his face and stroked his cheek. He closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. Her fingers trickled across his cheek. The pads feeling every angle of his face. Every wrinkle. His high cheek bones. His sharp jawline. The arch of his pointed nose.  
Hermione, then let one finger settle across the plushness of his lips. She outlined them and let one finger settle on the middle of his lower lip.  
Without thinking, only feeling, Severus's tongue darted out over the finger before he could control himself. He heard her gasp softly not pulling away.  
His eyes opened slightly to see her eyes dilating with need. He knew she was in pain. And he knew she was weak. No matter how much his body wanted her he couldn't have her. He shouldn't. He couldn't. He wouldn't.  
"Severus..." She said, her whisper turning slightly husky.  
It was the sexiest thing he had ever heard in the entire time of his life. He had always hated his name. The meaning almost controlling his life and personality.  
Stern. Cruel. Strict.  
But when she said it in the way she did, it gave it a new meaning.  
Love. Passion. Ferocity.  
He needed her. He laid her on her back and crawled on top of her catching her lips with his own. "Hermione..." He purred.  
"Severus, please." Her voice was shaking now. Staggering. Almost like she couldn't catch it. Her heart raced with anticipation. If she was to die. She was going to die in passion. Full of love and desire of her beloved. Sedated. Satisfied.  
Loved unconditionally.  
"Hermione," he growled, his lips moving to her neck. She gasped in pleasure. Then he pulled back suddenly. "No... You're too weak. I might."  
"Severus Tobias Snape," she said, sternly. "I know I'm weak. I know I'm dying. So you better get your act straight and send me to paradise before I die, do you hear me?"  
He paused and smirked. Without answering her, he lowered his lips down onto her neck and bit down. She let out a scream of pleasure. "Severus!"  
He pulled back, causing her to whimper. He only chuckled darkly and pulled her shirt over her head. Not wasting any time, he unclasped her bra and ripped off her shorts, exposing her bare flesh.  
She was sick. Her eyes silver. Her hair white. But she was still, ever so beautiful. And he loved her with all of his heart. His mind and body wanted to be inside of her. But in his heart, he knew he had to take it slow and not hurt her. She was, after all, slowly disintegrating from the inside out. Turning to ash.  
He had to be careful about this. But he knew he had to give her what she wanted and give in to his needs and desires as well.  
With a flick of his wand, he was naked as well and he stood at attention. "Hermione," he glowed. "My love. My witch." He lowered himself again and latched onto her breast sucking and biting the already hard morsel. He moved to the other and slowly massaged the peak he had already taken care of. Moving his hands to his current breast. He made his way slowly down her flat stomach. Kissing, sucking, and biting the skin there.  
When he made it all the way down, he stared straight her eyes and clamped his mouth down on the hot, swelling flesh of her body. She was already so wet. For him. And him only. "Oh Severus!" She cried out, gasping for air. She allowed her fingers to tangle in his hair and pressed him down harder. He slipped his tongue inside her and darted it in and out, Hermione moaning after each entrance.  
Severus slipped in a finger and was shocked at the tightness of her. "Oh fuck, witch. You're so fucking tight."  
He pumped in and out a few times before adding a second finger. And finally a third. She was crying out in pain but made sure he kept going.  
When he believed her ready, he ascended from his position of laying between her legs and lined himself up at her virgin opening. "Hermione, this is your last c-"  
She cut him off by thrusting her hips upward, taking him all in. They both cried out in agony and pleasure. She grabbed onto his back and dug her nails into it as they moved together.  
Finding a common rhythm, they moved in sync with one another. Sweat beaded on their backs and faces as they moved as one being. One love.  
They moved towards the climax like a ghost going towards the light. Slowly and happily. "Severus! Severus! SEVERUS!" Hermione cried out with each thrust.  
Her thruster harder and faster. All control and reason being thrown out the window long ago. His actions became more animalistic. His growls inhuman. Tears ran down her face as her body clenched. Her climax coming. "Severus, I'm gon-"  
"Not. Yet..." He managed. "Don't. You. Dare. Come. Witch."  
He kept thrusting as he began to convulse. His cock throbbing. Vibrating against her insides.  
"I'm gonna com-" Severus cried out and spouted his seed within her. Hermione let go and screamed in ecstasy.  
They both rode out their orgasms and collapsed in a sweaty and weak heap of human flesh.  
After several minutes of heavy breathing, Hermione lifted a shaky hand and placed it on Severus' chest. He shifted and rolled off the top of her and saw her eyes were shining and her skin was glowing. "Thank you, Sev." She slowly rolled over and opened her nightstand drawer. She pulled out a little black box and gave it to him.  
She put the tip of her wand to her chest and muttered an incantation. A glowing strand of magic stuck to the tip of her wand and she placed it in the box.  
"There. Now you have a part of my soul to be with you always," Hermione said. "And when you feel lost or you feel the darkness creeping in. Know that I will always be with you."  
Severus had tears streaming down his face and enveloped her in his arms.  
"Always."


	9. Chapter 9

Severus watched the woman he loved sleep.  
Now that sounds strange. Kind of creepy.  
But in a way... It wasn't. Because, Hermione, his Hermione, was finally peaceful. She was resting. Better than she had in a long time, because she was finally happy. She had the man she loved looming over her, watching her. Thinking of her. She was his sun. His moon and stars. She was the reason he woke up in the morning and when she was gone, he would have nothing.  
Nothing but her soul. A piece of her soul, in a black box.  
Leaving him alone.  
•••  
Hermione woke up and smiled at the sun streaming through the window. It was their last day alone together. Caro would be back either tonight or tomorrow morning from doing who knows what. She didn't even know what he was doing anymore. He was always on business trips. He spent countless days and nights studying with her and then he'd be called away to another country. And he'd come back with books, tomes, and scrolls that they didn't have and they would study more countless nights and repeat the process.  
She knew he was working hard on a way to revive her. They would pick up a new tome and he would pick up a text book and when they were done they'd switch to recheck the work. And then they'd place it on the "Non-Helpful" bookshelf. The "Helpful" shelf had maybe two tomes on it. The "Non-Helpful" bookshelf was overflowing. There were books and tomes stacked in the floor in front of it.  
Hermione's eyes scanned over to the overflowing bookshelf to find Severus in a comfortable recliner reading. There was a stack of works. "Decided to finally wake up, love?"  
"We've already read over those twice," she yawned pushing herself up into a sitting position, Indian style.  
"Might as well get a fresh set of eyes. And they've only been seen by one pair of brilliant eyes with a matching brain. Time to be read by an even more scholarly and brilliant mind. You're sick. So you might've misinterpreted or skipped something."  
Hermione giggled and stretched. Severus, without looking up flicked his wrist and a tray of two mugs of delicious coffee floated into the room.  
"I also made your favorite soup, when you want it."  
"Now," she said, taking a sip of her Caramel Macchiato.  
He flicked his wrist and a second tray came with two mugs and a large bowl of soup. The Sausage-Kale-Potato soup poured itself into the soup mugs and drifted over to the each of them.  
"Severus, you are amazing. I haven't had this soup since I left," Hermione muttered smelling of the soup and almost melting into a puddle of happiness.  
Severus closed the book, marking its page, and made his soup and coffee float while he settled down beside her on the bed. He leaned over and plucked her coffee and soup from her hands and put it on the trey. "Hey! That's my breakfast!"  
He chuckled and captured her lips with him. "You're beautiful with your after-sex glow."  
Hermione blushed and pecked his lips again tasting the coffee on them and picked up her own mug of soup. "So are you." She eyes his naked frame excusing his black boxers. He was glowing. His eyes lit up and lips still slightly swollen.  
Hermione's face was flushed and yet she still glowed. Her crystal eyes were lit up like a fire had been ignited in them.  
"I also like the sex hair," Severus chuckled. "In which I do not have..."  
"Any more," she finished, running a hand through her long, white, straight locks. It was indeed a tangled mess. But in a good way.  
They finished their strange breakfast and used the rest of their morning to their advantage, by reading and studying. Severus made a new bookshelf that said, "Could Possibly Help in Some Way".  
Hermione giggled and kissed his nose. "You know what? I love your nose. I wish our children would have it."  
"Why would you wish this nose on any child?"  
"Because it's beautiful."  
"Now I know you really are sick," Severus smiled, stroking her cheek. "I wish we could have children."  
"Well, we're going to find a cure. I know it. And then we can tell our children of this some day. Of how they thought mummy was going to die but daddy found a cure at the last minute. Now, put that beautiful nose in that book and cure me!"  
Severus kissed Hermione's forehead, holding back tears. There was no recorded cure. No cure. She was going to die. Possibly soon. But he liked to think, that one of these books, could indeed save her.  
He had always thought books were the key to everything. And if not, they held a clue that could point him in the tight direction.  
Now he knew, that wasn't true.  
But she would die, knowing they both tried until her last breath.


	10. Chapter 10

Three hours later, Severus watched Hermione has she collapsed before his very eyes.  
They were out in the back garden. She was showing him the lilies she had planted to remember him.  
He had turned around to pick a rose for his witch when he heard her sharp intake of breath. He quickly turned to see her knees buckle and she fell the ground.  
Now they sat in her cabin room and she deathly pale. Her eyes were nearly closed and she was barely breathing. Her voice was barely a whisper and her eyes were fazing.  
She was dying.  
And she wasn't going to come back.  
She slowly and weakly reached up to ghost her fingertips against his cheek. "Severus," she said. Her voice croaked.  
"Yes, my love?" He croaked. Seeing his witch in such a way was hurtful to him. He couldn't stand it. When she died. He would die. Nothing would be the same.  
"I think..." She coughed. "I know... What caused this..."  
Severus smiled, weakly. "Yes. It was the war, my darling. Some people can't hand-"  
"No, Severus," she insisted. "What happened the day I left?"  
"I don't remember, my love. It was a long time ago."  
"But if you were upset about it. If you were upset about the love of your life leaving. Wouldn't that day replay in your head over and over again?"  
"I don't understand, my love..."  
"Severus...." The light faded from her eyes and her breathing came to a halt.  
Hermione Granger was no more.  
Severus began to weep. "No!" He was about to lay down beside her when he heard a floor board creek. He turned to see Caro standing at the door.  
The dark skinned man stood with a smirk. "Son of a bitch," he said and pointed his wand at Severus's head. "Avada Kedavra!"  
Severus Snape fell back on the bed across his love.  
They were no more.


	11. Chapter 11

Hermione lurched forward in bed grasping at her wild brunette curls. She sprinted from the bed to the bathroom to find a wild, untamed mane of hair. Brown curls everywhere.  
Her eyes were a deep, coffee brown and sparkled with life.  
Her skin was tanned and smooth.  
She was normal.  
She wasn't missing.  
She was alive.  
•••  
Severus shot up in bed. He looked over to see the bed empty beside him. He clutched his pounding chest. The image of Hermione's death still flashing in his mind. He saw the washroom's light on and raced to see his witch gripping the sides of the sink.  
"Love?"  
"Severus," she rasped. "Circe's little piglets, Severus, what is Merlin's name..."  
He picked her up, twirled her around, and set her down again. "Come," he said, taking her hand. "Tempus." It was six in the morning. The sun would be rising about now.  
He took his wife's hand and led her to the balcony of Prince Manor. "Wow," Hermione said. "I can't believe..."  
"I know," he laughed. "If I had known that's what would've happened. I wouldn't have done the spell."  
You see, Severus and Hermione, three years prior to this moment, had a fight. A large argument that had almost resulted in Hermione leaving Hogwarts to go to America. She would've been severely sick and die from a very ancient aging spell dating all the way back to the Mayan Wizarding World. A curse that affected a witch or wizard whose body was unable to handle a great deal of traumatic stress.  
Luckily for Hermione, her best friends, Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini, Harry Potter, and Ginny Weasley convinced her of her love for the Potion's Master and she stayed. They mended their argument, cured Hermione of her trauma, and moved on with life.  
They got married a year later, when Hermione's apprenticeship was over and would be taking over.  
This was two years ago.  
Now, they had been working on a potion that would allow the drinker to see an alternate timeline. See what would have happened if they had made a different choice. They took it as a joint decision and decided that would be the best memory to go to. The deciding argument that would test their love for each other.  
When they died in the vision, they were immediately brought back to present time. The same amount of time had passed as it had in the vision. So maybe only a couple days.  
It was currently summer break. Mid-July. Summer was at it's high. Wizarding Barbecues. Quidditch Cups.  
And babies.  
Hermione Snape was four months pregnant. She didn't know how the potion n would effect the baby but turns out it didn't effect it at all.  
Severus got down on his knees and kissed Hermione's slightly swollen stomach. "Papa and Mummy are back, dearest."  
Hermione smiled, combing Severus's hair with her fingers. "We would both be dead right now..."  
"But we aren't," he said, kissing her senseless. "And you're mine."  
•••  
School was about to start and the Headmaster and Potion's Mistress were readying themselves. Severus entered their shared chamber's the night before the opening of the school. "How are my girls, this evening?" He asked, loosening his cravat.  
"We are making it, my love," she said, kissing cheek already in her emerald green dressing gown. "So, which do you prefer?"  
He smiled and turned. "Yes?"  
She flicked her wand and her hair immediately lengthened and turned snow white with crystal eyes. "Do I look pretty?"  
"No," Severus said, waving his hand to change her hair back.  
She giggled. "Oh, Severus...."  
"Don't you 'Oh Severus' me! Do you know how frightened I was? I thought you were dead! I watched you die like that! I will never see you like that again!"  
Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck and crashed her lips to his. "You will never lose me again. You will never have to live without me."  
And he never did. They spent their lives together. And when the time came. They left this life together and joined Lily, Sirius, Fred, Lupin, Tonks, James, Dumbledore and everyone else in the next life.  
They were together forever.  
Always.


End file.
